Tuesday, September 16, 2014

I just finished up this private commission of Rainbow Bridge. Speaking of private commissions, anyone interested in a painting for Christmas, get your orders in now! If I know in advance, I will have a better chance of getting yours done in time for the festivities. Contact me through Facebook or my website.

The natural wonder that is Rainbow Bridge is located in a finger of Glen Canyon that is now only accessible from Lake Powell in Southern Utah (true, you could hike in, but I really don't think many people take the arduous overland route). The first time I visited it in the mid 1980's it looked pretty much like I have depicted in the painting. Record runoff two years in a row had filled Lake Powell to capacity and the water had backed up all the way under the natural sandstone formation. Climbing on or under the bridge is restricted today out of respect to the Native American tribes who deem it sacred, but the time I visited with my Boy Scout troop, we took the opportunity to cliff jump directly underneath the bridge. I can't remember if it was discouraged then , but we did it anyway (oh the shame of youth). After a short swim to the other side, my fellow intrepid teenage adventurers and I scaled the slope under the bridge to take the plunge. I estimate that the drop was between thirty-five and forty-five feet, but after I launched myself off, I swear it felt like a hundred. After slamming into the water and then fighting back to the surface for a welcome gulp of air, I decided once was enough.

Lake Powell is currently more than one hundred feet below capacity which now makes the hike from the water to the Rainbow Bridge more than a mile. When I first went there, the boat docks were maybe a hundred yards from the bridge and that was only to keep boat traffic a reasonable distance away. It would take several years of above average snowfall to fill the lake again. I am not sure I will ever see Rainbow Bridge like that again. My friend who commissioned the piece said that her family went to Lake Powell many times while they were growing up and this is the way she wanted to remember it. I guess this view is just water under the bridge, so to speak.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

I have been lucky enough to do a number of theater posters recently. The latest is for the stage version of Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott which was adapted into the classic 1967 film starring Audrey Hepburn as the blind lead character terrorized in her own apartment by a group of thugs looking for a drug stuffed doll. Having only seen the film, I was not aware that it was a play first, but I revisited the film to get a fresh feel for what the play is all about. After seeing it again, I knew I wanted to focus on the lead character of Susy in a close up with dramatic lighting. The match plays a key part in the action when Susy douses the killer with gasoline and then threatens to light him on fire.

I set up a photo shoot with my wonderful model Betsy and photographed a couple of different options. I wanted to invoke the feel of old film noir movie posters in the color palette and also by adding the distressed edges and scratches. I created and scanned my own hand made distressed folds to make it look like the poster was worn along the folds as well.

I also took the opportunity to handle the title design. I found a very retro feeling font that was appropriate for the overall feel of the poster. I also distressed the type layer to match the rest of the image. I'm thrilled with how it turned out and the client, Footlight Players Theater in Charleston, South Carolina, was as well.

Monday, September 8, 2014

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Minh Uong, art director for the New York Times. I had worked with him a long time ago when he was with the Village Voice, but somehow we had not had another opportunity to work together for the past several years. As we caught up on things he offered me a project that I could not pass up. I mean, can you really pass on a front page business section feature illustration in the New York Times? I certainly couldn't. The article was to be an in depth look at Chinese internet tycoon Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. I have to admit, I knew absolutely nothing about Jack Ma before taking on this project, but a little time on the internet solved that problem. Ma's network of online businesses include China's version of Ebay, Amazon, and PayPal among other offerings. Since Alibaba's founding in 1999, Ma has become a billionaire and one of China's most powerful businessmen. He turned out to be a very interesting character with a unique face and personality that I was determined to capture. I watched several interviews with him as well as looked at countless photos to analyze his features.

The concept that Minh and I discussed for the art was to show Ma as the leader of this new global marketplace but with a lighthearted nod to the Mao era Chinese propaganda posters. I loved the imagery in some of those old posters depicting the heroic worker. I decided to use the color and feel of those old posters but avoid having things feel overbearing and communist. Since I had a relatively square format to work within and I knew I wanted Jack Ma to be front and center, I designed two options to present and then gave those two options a different treatment visually.

One version would be painted in my usual full color style and the other would be a more graphic version similar in feel to some of the old propaganda posters I had seen that were more like ink drawings with blocks of color. Minh told me that it was a tough choice between the two different aesthetic options but they ultimately wanted to go with the full color painted option. In a final touch, the flags in the background would bear the logos of the various Alibaba group companies as well.

Original drawing submitted

Revised drawing with jacket and tie

One of the editors also felt that he needed to look less like a worker and more like a businessman, so I added the suit jacket and tie. I was also asked to smooth out the jacket a little by making it a more tailored and less rumpled. I smoothed out a few of the wrinkles in the sleeves and jumped in to the finish rendering.

Jack Ma final drawing version

I really wanted to give this one the aged feel of an old poster that had been folded and worn, so the last step was to add some distressing and folds that I created on a separate piece of paper and added over the top of the finished piece.

That last bit of grunge and folded paper I think pushed it from good to really good. I am thrilled with how it turned out and the good reactions I have received since it hit the newsstands yesterday. I'm excited to add this one to my portfolio and see what it does in competitions. Hopefully it will lead to some more good work for me.

Friday, September 5, 2014

This year is the seventh year in a row that we have had a swimmer on the Skyline High School varsity swim. Needless to say, parents always have the opportunity to be "involved" with the booster club in providing support to the team. This year I volunteered to create the design for the team shirt.

I consulted with the team captains regarding what they had in mind for the shirt and I was off. They wanted a variation on the eagle mascot, this time swooping in over the water. I sketched up a rough and went to it.

I digitally inked the drawing and then added the typography as well as some splashes on the front and back. I warped the type into a simple wave to help with the whole water feel. the final touch was to add a distressed crackle pattern to give it a well worn look. The back features the team slogan chosen by this years captains. Both the boy's and girl's teams are defending 4A state champs, so I guess "Here We Come!" will juice up the team as well as instill a little fear in the opponents. The captains are thrilled with the result and I am looking forward to seeing seventy odd kids wearing the shirt each meet.

The Story So Far

I have been making art for as long as I can remember. These days I work in acrylic paint or Photoshop when creating illustrations for magazines, children's book publishers and advertising clients. I have even been given some cool awards for it. Lately, I am loving oil painting out of doors and for galleries.

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